AMD Ryzen 9 4900H vs AMD Ryzen 7 4980U vs AMD Ryzen 5 4680U
AMD Ryzen 9 4900H
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The AMD Ryzen 9 4900H is a mobile SoC for big laptops based on the Renoir architecture. At the time of announcement in March 2020 it is the fastest model of the 4000H series. The R9 4900H integrates all eight cores based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture. They are clocked at 3.3 (guaranteed base clock) to 4.4 GHz (Turbo) and support SMT / Hyperthreading (16 threads). The chip is manufactured in the modern 7 nm process at TSMC and partly thanks to it AMD advertises a 2x improved performance per Watt for the Renoir chips
According to our information, the Ryzen 9 4900H is only slightly faster than the Ryzen 7 4800H. The CPU is clocked 400 MHz (base +14%) to 200 MHz (boost +5%) higher, but the gains greatly depend on the cooling and TDP settings. Compared to Intel chips, the i9-9980HK top model should be comparable. That means the Ryzen 9 4900H should be able to handle all demanding tasks and gaming.
In addition to the eight CPU cores, the APU also integrates a Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics card with 8 CUs. The dual channel memory controller supports DDR4-3200 and energy efficient LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 12 MB level 3 cache can be found on the chip. See our hub page on the Renoir Processors for more information.
The TDP of the APU is specified at 45 Watt (default). That means the chip is intended for big and relatively heavy laptops.
AMD Ryzen 7 4980U
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The AMD Ryzen 7 4980U is a Renoir family processor designed for certain Microsoft Surface systems. 4980U has eight Zen 2 cores clocked at 2.0 GHz (base clock speed) to 4.4 GHz (Boost) with thread-doubling SMT tech enabled for a total of 16 threads. The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm TSMC process and partly thanks to that AMD promises a 2x improvement in performance-per-Watt over Ryzen 3000 series mobile CPUs.
Architecture
The Zen 2 microarchitecture has brought a sizeable per-thread performance boost compared to the outgoing Zen+ parts. Renoir product family is also the first to introduce 8-core ULV processors to laptop market, keeping power consumption within reasonable limits. This AMD processor family is very impressive from most perspectives. One of the disatvantages to keep in mind is the lack of PCI-Express 4 support, meaning these blazing-fast NVMe SSDs will be limited to 3.9 GB/s tops.
Ryzen 7 4980U is designed to work with quad-channel LPDDR4 memory at up to 4,267 MHz. 8 MB of Level 3 are present in this chip. The Ryzen 7 gets soldered straight to the motherboard (FP6 socket) and is thus not user-replaceable. Please go to our Renoir hub page for more information on the product family.
Performance
4980U is the fastest ULV Ryzen 4000 series model. As such, its clock speeds are 200 MHz higher (both the base and Boost) compared to the older Ryzen 7 4800U. We fully expect the new Zen 3 based Ryzen 7 5800U to be even faster thanks to the new architecture. In the meantime, 4980U proves to be nearly as fast as an i7-10870H in multi-core benchmarks while bending the knee to older Intel CPUs, such as the i5-8300H, when under single-thread load.
Graphics
In addition to its eight CPU cores, the Ryzen 7 also features the Radeon RX Vega 8 graphics adapter with 8 CUs (= 512 shaders) at up to 1,950 MHz. This iGPU is compatible with FreeSync and DirectX 12 and is able to HW-decode AVC, HEVC, VP9-encoded videos (no AV1 support here). Vega 8 is capable of outputting UHD 2160p60 video signal to several monitors and, similar to Intel's Iris Xe (80 EUs), is good enough for a bit of light gaming on the go, provided one is content with sub-1080p resolutions and low/medium quailty presets.
Power Consumption
The APU has a 15 W TDP that OEMs are free to change to anywhere between 10 W to 25 W. 4980U is a good fit for ultraportable laptops but is unlikely to play well with passive cooling solutions.
AMD Ryzen 5 4680U
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The AMD Ryzen 5 4680U is a semi-custom APU of the Renoir family designed for Microsoft devices. The 4680U integrates six CPU cores based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture clocked at 2.2 GHz (base) to 4 GHz (Boost) with SMT support for a total 12 threads. The two advantages a 4680U has over the older Ryzen 5 4600U are its higher base clock speed and a faster iGPU.
Architecture
The chip is manufactured on the modern 7 nm TSMC process and in part thanks to this fact, AMD advertises a 2x performance per watt improvement over the 12 nm Ryzen 3000 mobile processors. The built-in dual-channel memory controller supports LPDDR4-4266 RAM. Furthermore, 8 MB of L3 cache can be found on the chip.
Just like the other mobile Ryzen 4000 CPUs, a 4680U supports PCI-Express 3.0. Please go to our Renoir processor hub page for additional information on the product family.
Performance
The Ryzen 5 will lag behind the Ryzen 7 4980U in multi-threaded workloads because of the lower core count, 6 vs 8, while being way ahead of the Intel Core i7-1065G7 (4 cores, up to 3.9 GHz), the fastest 15 watt Intel Ice Lake CPU. The single core performance does not differ much between the 4680U and 1065G7, as the max Boost clock speeds are nearly identical. Therefore, Ryzen 5 4680U is a very capable 15 watt CPU and clearly faster than the older Ryzen 7 3700U.
Graphics
In addition to the six CPU cores, the APU also integrates a DX 12 compatible Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics adapter with 7 CUs (448 unified shaders) at up to 1,500 MHz. The Vega iGPU will have no trouble HW-decoding AVC, HEVC and VP9 videos, but the newer AV1 codec will only be decoded via software. In terms of gaming, we are looking at an MX150-level performance. Pretty much all games released in 2020 can be played on low to medium settings in 720p on this graphics adapter.
Power Consumption
While the TDP of the APU is specified at 15 watts, it consumed roughly 23 watts under prolonged load in our testing. The chip is a good fit for the thinner, lighter laptops provided an active cooling system is present.
Model | AMD Ryzen 9 4900H | AMD Ryzen 7 4980U | AMD Ryzen 5 4680U | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series | AMD Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) | AMD Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) | AMD Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Codename | Renoir (Zen 2) | Renoir (Zen 2) | Renoir (Zen 2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series: Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) Renoir (Zen 2) |
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Clock | 3300 - 4400 MHz | 2000 - 4400 MHz | 2200 - 4000 MHz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L1 Cache | 512 KB | 512 KB | 384 KB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L2 Cache | 4 MB | 4 MB | 3 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L3 Cache | 8 MB | 8 MB | 8 MB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cores / Threads | 8 / 16 | 8 / 16 | 6 / 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TDP | 45 Watt | 15 Watt | 15 Watt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technology | 7 nm | 7 nm | 7 nm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
max. Temp. | 105 °C | 105 °C | 105 °C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Socket | FP6 | FP6 | FP6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Features | XFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT | XFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT | XFR, FMA3, SSE 4.2, AVX2, SMT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
iGPU | AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000) ( - 1750 MHz) | AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 4000) ( - 1950 MHz) | AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 ( - 1500 MHz) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architecture | x86 | x86 | x86 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announced | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manufacturer | AMD Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) R7 4980U | AMD Renoir (Ryzen 4000 APU) R5 4680U |